Poor CVS/Caremark made the news with a negative slant towards their wellness program. All they want to do is encourage their employees to be healthy, right? This article questions the “voluntary” aspect of the wellness program due to their $50/month incentive. Discrimination through wellness programs is permitted as long as the program is a voluntary one, among other requirements under HIPAA. However, “voluntary” is not specifically defined in regulatory guidance and so it remains to be seen if the government steps in and dictates at what level an “incentive” crosses the line between voluntary and coercion. This guidance would likely be the domain of the ADA & the EEOC.

Under Obamacare, who even counts as a tobacco user?

By Sarah Kliff , Updated: February 19, 2013

There’s a big debate happening in the states right now over whether to allow insurance companies to charge tobacco users a 50 percent premium surcharge under Obamacare — you can read more about that in my story in today’s paper.

There’s an equally important debate happening here in Washington, one that I wasn’t able to spend much time on in that article: Figuring out who counts as a tobacco user in the first place. A smoker who goes through a pack a day likely fits the bill, but what about one who only smokes the occasional cigarette in the bar? The person making a quit attempt? The user of e-cigarettes?